DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Chapter The Taunt
"It's nothing majorly concerning," Ryan replied downed. "My sister's just a hunter now and it's going to be a whole thing this weekend."
"Look on the bright side," Alex as Nightwing countered from behind Moobeam, "people who make hunt before turning eighteen usually end up in the history books. Look at Enrique Costa or Greybeard the Stonehearted or even your grandfather."
"Or Melvin Scott," Moonbeam stated.
"Or Julien le Roux," Carson added.
"Okay," Ryan replied still not convinced. "Name a female hunter who hunted under eighteen." They all went dead silent and Ryan spun on her heel. "Exactly."
"Urg, Wednesdays," Moobeam groaned. "She was on patrol last night."
"Poor thing. We should really get her something special for her birthday," Carson suggested. "Like one of those bedazzled holsters for her side arm."
"Pretty sure there's a rule against that," Moonbeam countered.
"Well," Alex began slowly, "Saturday, Ridley and I are going gift shopping."
"What," the pseudo Beast Boy and Starfire roared together. "Are you crazy? Why would you do that," Carson hissed. "They hate each other."
"Because they're sisters. Identical sisters. Ridley knows Ryan better than anyone," Alex stated but Carson and Moonbeam were not at all convinced. "I hope," he added under his breath.
"If Ryan disowns you, we know nothing," Moobeam concluded then bounced off to class with Carson at her side.
On the third of November, eighteen years ago, a pre-psycho Renee gave birth to a set of health identical daughters, with her boyfriend of that time at her side. Needless to say that Rowan Clarke Axel was a devout father, in contrast to his daughters' mother. The unmarried parents eagerly brought their little girls home to their cramped unit in Lanasia. At the tender age of a month old, the twins were already motherless.
Harsh times fell onto the single father as he was still mourning the death of his brothers and recovering from a broken heart and he had to focus on is tertiary education and he had two innocent lives to take care of. Hesitantly he entrusted his infant daughters to his parents, who were still unfazed by their toxic sons' deaths.
Things grew more difficult when Barbara was offered a position at The Hunt office in Asteria City, in the westernmost region of Monteiro. The single father then turned to a daytime babysitter who he quickly learned was not a financially bright idea. His job at the campus cafe wasn't enough to cover the twins' needs and his own.
Ironically the very bank breakers that his daughter proved to be were what motivated him. The last thing Clarke wanted was to have his daughters grow up in a shabby home. Before earning his degree in education, he moved them closer to his parents who took then in while he shifted to night classes.
By day, Clarke was a barista at a small cafe and by night he was university student trying to do good by his daughters. They didn't grow up having much but they grew up with a father who singlehandedly gave them everything they would need.
Then - one day at the grocery market - while scanning over the fruit specials with six year old twins in the cart, Clarke saw the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. Esmeralda was picking out oranges and put them into Clarke's cart in place of her own. Ridley gasped her fright, alerting Esmeralda and surprising Clarke.
Ryan looked between the two adults, talking over each other. Her trying to apologise and him trying to get her not to worry about it. As luck would have it, three Class Es came charging into the store for a bloodbath, only to be cuffed down by Clarke, Esmeralda and the security guard. Two years later, the two married and the rest is history.
A history Renee didn't know about until she snuck into the headmaster's residence, that morning. Ryan was dead asleep, as were her parents and grandfather. Renee, like a mouse, glided through the house and followed Clarke's familiar musk to the bedroom he shared with his wife.
An icy hate filled the eldritch and her face went red with rage at the sight of the redblood with the only man she genuinely loved. Renee, in those moments, felt the same wrenching pain in her chest Clarke felt eighteen years ago when she left. The father of her children had his arms warmly wrapped around another woman.
Tears pooled in Renee's eyes as she silently left the principal's bedroom and trailed down the hallway to the staircase that led to the mezzanine in the former tower. That mezzanine formed Ridley's bedroom but the huntress wasn't there. She was out for her morning jog but Ankh was still snoozing at the foot of the bed.
That's how silent Renee was! So silent that even the acute hearing of a full grown wolf couldn't hear her. Renee sniffed her eldest daughter's scent, heavy in her room before investigating around it. She still wallowed over Clarke while peeking around the room.
In an unmarked box in the back of Ridley's closet of black-to-grey clothing, Renee found photo albums. The lives of Ridley, Ryan and Rowan - also known as Clarke - without Renee were captured in a series of stills. It brought a wry smile to the goldblood's tear-streamed face.
She got a chance to watch her daughters grow up and she could see how the man she loved lived. Clarke was young, naive and overly ambitious when Renee first met him, he was fresh out of high school. She could only imagine the mature man he was and the forbearing father he became.
Renee chuckled as more tears filled her eyes from the more she paged through the album. There were pictures of Clarke teaching the girls to skateboard and how to ride horses and how to use a bow and arrow. There were pictures of the girls doing ordinary things like Ryan's ballet recitals and Ridley's music competitions; baking gingerbread cookies; opening presents under the Christmas tree. The works.
Sighing heavily, the eldritch left the grey wolf asleep in her daughter's room. At the door, she froze. Renee turned back to Ankh and furrowed her eyebrows. "A wolfen?" Ankh's eyes spewed open and she shot her head to the door, only to see it ajar the way Ridley left it. Suspicion made her fur stick up but she couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary.
Renee was already across the fort, in Ryan's room. In her bed, Ryan had her arms around Alex's bare chest. The goldblood chuckled lightl herself then picked a pillow off the floor and slammed it into her daughter's face. Ryan gasped and grabbed the gun under her pillow while Alex bolted upright.
"Happy birthday, princess," Renee sang.
"Holy shitballs! What time is it," Ryan jeered while Alex scrambled for his pants that Renee held up for him. "Ever hear of a normal wake up call?" Renee merely shrugged unapologetic, making Ryan exhale her fluster. "Jesus," she yawned. "Alex, this is my mother, Renee. Renee, Alex."
"Charmed," Renee replied reaching her hand out to the still stunned Alex. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr Samuelson."
"Um, your mother's alive," he asked more than stated as he shook Rene pallid hand. "You said she was-"
"She's been gone all this time," Ryan cut in. "It's a long story but we have an okay-ish relationship."
He nodded, surprised by the lack of concern Renee had for the partially naked man in her daughter's room. "Er, I'll see you later," Alex concluded and Ryan nodded. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks." Alex tiptoed out the door before sneaking through the reconditioned fort to get back to his dorm. "He won't tell anyone," Ryan stated to the silence.
"I know," Renee replied nonchalantly as she sat on the edge of the bed. "If he did, it would raise the question as to how he knows. He seems decent enough not to want you desecrated from The Hunt Association." Ryan rested her chin on her knees with a heavy breath. "Spill the beans," her mother ordered.
Ryan sighed then lightly shook her head. "It's just something I was thinking about last night."
"If it's 'we should have been safe' keep it to yourself."
"No. I was just thinking when this is all over, would it be okay if I left with you? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my life here and everything daddy as Ez have done for us but I..." Renee combed a sweat-drenched lock of black hair out Ryan's face "... I just belong here anymore. My friends wouldn't get it, daddy and Ez would literally kill me if they knew and don't get me started with Richard!"
"Of course you can," Renee replied earnestly. "I suppose it's my fault at the end of they. For dragging you into this? If it weren't for me, you would still be content with your life. All this anarchy... I drove a deep wedge into your comfort and I'm sorry. Genuinely." Ryan buried herself into Renee's chest and the estranged mother repetitively kissed the crown of hereditary black hair. "There will always be a part of me that regrets leaving you," she whispered.
Ryan relaxed in the toxic embrace. "All I ever wanted was someone to tell me that I mattered to them and not as a matching set." She sniffed before wiping away her tears. "I just want to be by your side."
"I know the perfect way to make that happen," Renee replied and Ryan straightened up. "Mother-daughter bonding. If I remember, you need a hair cut." Ryan followed her hair in her fingers down to her ribs. "Get dressed and the day will be ours." Ryan nodded mutely then wiped the last of her tears. "Meet me at that quaint cafe by the middle school in one hour."
"Wait! Every hunter in town is looking for you." Renee only smirked at her before leaping out the window. "Of course. At least I know where Ridley gets it."
Speaking of Ridley, she was recovering from her morning jog at her usual water fountain. The school was quiet and not even the moon students were out. The canine hunters were taking in everything that crossed their paths. She paused abruptly from drinking, feeling a tingling sensation around her mouth.
Immediately she spat out the water. For something that didn't have a taste, the water was revolting! "You good, Axel," Sayeed asked with his dobermans and German Shepherds also on the scented hunt. "What happened?"
"School plumbing happened."
Scarab, a doberman leaped to her hind legs to sniff the fountain then turned back to Sayeed on all fours. "She says it's fine," he translated. Still, he took Ridley's word and sampled the water. "It tastes fine. Maybe your taste buds are off," he joked. Ridley glowered at him. "I'm being dead serious. It tastes fine."
"Jakob," Ridley called. "Second opinion."
"Yay-cub? You're name is Yay-cub," Sayeed directed to the head of intelligence.
"It's Danish, Pharaoh boy," Jakob replied coldly. He handed Ridley his tablet to sip the water. "Everything checks out, girl." He planted his palm to her forehead. "Any other symtoms?"
"Nothing you're not already aware of," Ridley replied. "The white fire, resurrecting animals."
"Unusual cravings? Sore spots? Strange sensations?"
"Just the tingling from the water."
The one-eyed hunter widened his remaining eye. "Best hope I'm wrong, girl," he added before searching his pockets with one hand.
His other hand reached for Ridley's free hand. With the dagger he unsheathed, he slashed deep into Ridley's hand, making Sayeed's digs bark angrily. "What the hell, sir," Sayeed bellowed, holding a hand out to silence his canine subunit4. "A normal blood test would've-"
"I'm not wrong," Jakob stated, taking in Ridley's bleeding hand. In place of black ink-like blood, Ridley was bleeding gold blood with black mixed into it. "Renee did this. Only her genes can interrupt your genetic profile like this. She must've injected you with her blood or fed it to you or done something to get samples of her DNA into your blood stream."
"How do you all this? Not even Charter House's archives have a lot of intel on eldritches," Sayeed stated.
"I'm Intelligence; this is what I am paid to do," Jakob replied as the deep cut healed itself. "Whatever Renee wants, girl, you're involved. Had this been done when you were a baby, you would be suppressing this much easily. Your sister?"
"Nothing. Not even heightened senses."
"Get control and Clarke won't get involved," Jakob concluded and reached for his tablet. "Don't drink water; goldbloods don't need it. Refrain from blood and you won't become Edging or Feral. I recommend you stay with the moon students; they will help you adapt without knowing it. As for you, Tutankhamun, make sure she doesn't kill anyone innocent." He turned on his way to continue his survey. "And, girl," he called slowly turning back to her. "Happy birthday."
She merely nodded then Jakob continued with his work. "It's your birthday," Sayeed replied.
"No. It's Ryan's birthday; I just happen to be her twin."
"Noted," Sayeed replied but he could smell the angst she tried to hide. "You know, I don't have any goldbloods that I really trust, except my mother. If you want, I could ask her for some-" Ridley looked up at him sullenly. "If you knew the world my parents are from, you would trust them with secrets. My mother can help."
"Fortysomething years old and still a mama's boy?"
"Her grandparents were eldritches," Sayeed stated, earning Ridley's curiosity. "She was raised by them. She can help. Now do you trust me?"
"I only trust you because you're a hunter. Other than that, no."
"I can live with that," Sayeed admitted while dialling on his phone.
"Let me know what you find," Ridley concluded then left.
She too got dressed for a day in Dunon Town. Unfortunately she agreed to help Alex find a birthday gift for Ryan. Despite being a new moon student, Ridley still operated on a sun student calendar. It was exhausting since there were large gaps in her sleeping patterns but as a hunter she could take it.
Dunon Town was its usual uneventful buzz. The square was where most of the activity was; since that's where most of the shopping and food outlets were. Morien's tattoo parlour was perhaps the most still in the square. He was doing a piercing for his client. Ridley's heightened sight allowed her to deduce as much.
While watching the goldblood's laser focus, Ridley didn't see Ryan sneering at her back. With the younger twin was their mother, hidden under a pair of sunglasses and a scarf wrapped over her head. Renee was taking in the playing area that separated her and Ryan from Ridley. She watched sadly as a mother was playing with her daughter and their dog.
Renee sighed dreamily then patted Ryan's shoulder. "Your time will come, bonbon," Renee purred while combing through the lush black hair the twins inherited from Clarke. "In the meantime, ready for phase two of our little... taunt?"
The Bubbly Axel combed through her own hair and went pallid. "How short, exactly, do I have to cut it," she winced.
Renee hummed a chuckle. "'I'm a hunter not Samson'? Weren't those your very words," she began as they left the square for the more stilled streets of town. "Relax. Dominique was just as skeptical about finger curls, in the twenties. Now you could bet your life that she was born with that hairstyle."
"Wha-? She's still alive?"
"No," Renee replied casually as they went about their stroll. "Both my sisters are gone. It's been about a few centuries since they were slaughtered; some time before the Gold Scourge. Tomás lived with them at our family's property, in Nice. He inherited it after... they would be as alive and well as I, had it not been for the hunters."
"How are you alive? You're, like, a thousand years old."
"Actually I am just over two thousand, but whatever," Renee deflected quickly. "Eldritches like us we..." she sighed "... um. Our parents were the first generation."
Ryan was stunned wordless. "'First generation' as in first generation eldritch or 'first generation' as in the very first generation? Turned by the Source?"
A hearty laugh escaped the goldblood. "Those are the exact same thing, bonbon." Ryan was silent with a core-shaking shock. "What? Surprising that your blood is much more valued than you anticipated?"
"Not really; I'm more interested to know what the Source is." Renee only grinned brightly at Ryan as they crossed the street arm-in-arm. "Oh, come on! There's a whole council in The Hunt dedicated to knowing what the Source is. Please?"
"No. It is a secret that families like mine were entrusted with."
"Well," Ryan sang, "you're my mother and your sisters were my aunts and your parents were my grandparents. I'm a de Luq ergo this's my secret as much as it is yours."
Renee rolled her eyes then teased her fingers through Ryan's let down hair. "I was thinking a pixie cut. Asymmetrical, maybe. It will really dim the insecurity in your eyes," she deflected then dragged her daughter into the salon.
"You want me to get the exact same hair cut as you," Ryan whispered, staring into the dark purple sunglass lenses. The blue eyes that they hid were likely filled with their usual slyness. "Why? That's weird."
"That's phase two of our plan," was all Renee said. Ryan groaned but was still towed into the hair salon.
Across Main Street, Alex was actively scanning over a series of necklaces with one of the Lovisa employees. Ridley stood behind him mutely watching. She rolled up her trackauit jacket sleeve and absentmindedly scratched at her Hunter gradus. She wasn't supposed to take the bandage off yet but after having three other tattoos, she wasn't worried.
Magalie, the Lovisa employee, was showcasing six different necklaces for Alex. Flashy jewellery was at the bottom of Ridley's list of interests, directly above relationships. Relationships being at the very bottom of the list. The huntress with the illegal Hunter gradus shook her head to herself then turned to rack beside her that had bracelets and bangles on it. One caught her attention. It was black strings woven together with the Ying and Yang symbol hanging from it.
Alex groaned his fluster and Magalie could only chuckle. "What do you think," he directed to Ridley who slowly turned back to the frustrated senior. He narrowed down the six necklaces Magalie held down to two.
"Those are nice."
Alex huffed to himself then rang his tongue over his bottom lip. "That's what you said about all the others," he replied. "At least I know how girls feel when they go shopping with guys," he joked but Ridley wasn't amused. "Don't you know what she likes? She's your sister."
"You say that like it's supposed to mean something."
Magalie bit her lip then noticed how Ridley was picking at her gradus. "You're a hunter," she began. "Is your sister too?"
Ridley's eyes turned to Alex who nodded defeatedly at Magalie. "Yes, she is."
"I have just the thing," Magalie said with a newfound chipperness. "We have a new range that was inspired by hunter stealth. These are still stainless steel but they've been treated with an anti-reflective finish. She can still wear them and if you shine a torch on it, nothing happens."
Ridley tuned out Alex's next round of necklace scanning. Ankh moaned her boredom from the doorway. Her head was buried onto her paws and she watched the indecisiveness unfold over again. Ankh could feel that Ridley wanted to not be there just as much as she did.
Alex scanned over the limited variety of the collection. "This one. It's perfect," he stated picking out the crescent moon. "Ridley?" She only glowered at him. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."
One customer watching smirked seductively to her friend then purred, "I want one!"
"I wish my boyfriend was that tentative," another customer whispered seductively.
"Thanks, Ridley," Alex cheered but her reply was coldly walking out of the store. Ankh perked up when Ridley exited and the wolf sat up. "I owe you one," Alex added whilst zipping his backpack.
"Whatever," she stated.
"Seriously, I think-"
"No." She dug for her buzz phone and found it to be Sayeed calling. Ankh hummed then panted eagerly. "Anything," she replied into her phone. Alex turned to Ankh who gave her canine of a smile. "ETA?" She nodded at his reply. "Keep me posted."
She hung up. She sized up Alex. She merely walked away. "Seriously," Alex voiced.
"Ankh," Ridley called and the grey wolf lathered her slobber over the non-ampyra non-hunter's hand. She trotted up to Ridley and the two were on their way.
"Wait," Alex persisted then blocked Ridley's path. He grabbed her wrist. She grabbed his hand and flipped him over her shoulder. "Geez, dude! You are a different level of hardcore," he grunted then stood up. "Can I get you something to say thank you? Ryan means a lot to me and I-"
Ridley flung Alex into the nearest wall. Ankh growled at Ridley. The huntress ignored the wolf. She grabbed the non-hunter by an ankle and effortlessly held him upside down, earning an audience. "How long have you been fucking my sister," she asked coolly.
"What," he gasped in surprise. "I, er, it's not like that. We're just..." she raised an eyebrow at him and deepened her scowl. When Alex only dangled looking confused, Ridley pulled out her karambit. "Look, I know it's against the rules and stuff but Ryan said it was okay. I swear I don't want to get her into trouble. I love her."
"Don't care about you," Ridley stated. "Break her heart, I break you. That's not a threat, that's a promise."
"Got it," Alex replied fearfully. "I swear that's the last thing I want."
Ridley flung Alex over her shoulder and dragged him to the edge of the square with Ankh scurrying behind them. She dropped him onto the paved surface before unlocking her bicycle, with Ankh seated in the wagon. Alex sat on the ground, massaging the ankle Ridley pierced her nails into.
Casually she cycled back to school not knowing that Ryan and Renee saw it all. "She's getting stronger," Renee stated. "Good. We'll need her at peak performance."
"She threatened Alex."
"Calm yourself, bonbon," Renee ordered sternly. "You get the fun part." Ryan turned to her mother quizzically. "Did you forget the part where you can hurt her?"
"No. I just don't want to hurt myself to hurt her. There's no point."
"Fine," Renee sighed. "Go home. Make sure that Clarke sees you before anyone else. That's one of the two key elements in this phase of my plan."
"What's the other?"
"Taunting in the name of this phase. Taunting Clarke and taunting the only person susceptible to your sister's touch."
"Who, Satan?"
Renee chuckled then kissed Ryan's forehead. "Go home."
"We have a serious lack of communication, I hope you realise that," Bubbly Axel jeered.
The eldritch kissed her daughter's forehead again. "Happy birthday, bonbon," she wished. Ryan huffed then walked away. While Ryan was handling Clarke, Renee would handle little Dane Sorensen."
Underneath the midday sun, Ryan cruised up the brick pathway to the headmaster's residence. Not far away, Ridley and Ankh were heading to the sports fields. Ryan exhaled heavily then took the brass handles of the manor doors in each hand and hesitated. She replaced her grand entrance with a timid slide in.
As stealthily as she could, Ryan sealed the door. The house was silent but a sharp gasp soon cut through the stillness. Ryan slowly spun around to see Clarke shielding Esmeralda from her. "What are you doing here," he hissed angrily, drawing the gun from his holster.
Confusion covered the huntress as she took in her petrified parents. "I live here," Ryan replied. "Why do you look...?" Ryan ran her fingers over her new pixie cut. "Because I look like her."
Esmeralda shoved Clarke aside and hurried to take Ryan's hands in hers. "Hey, it's okay," Esmeralda replied.
"Who said you could cut your hair," Clarke hissed.
"Clarke..." Esmeralda called to calm him.
"I'm eighteen; I'm an adult."
"Really," Clarke replied. "Then as an adult you can-"
"Hey! That is enough," Esmeralda cut in. "Clarke, you were caught off guard," she whispered. "Please calm down." She rested a hand on his chest. Slowly her hand trailed down to his and she rested his on her womb. "Please," she pleaded. Esmeralda buried her face in his chest then looked over her shoulder at Ryan. "That's definitely a new look."
"Gee, thanks," Ryan replied sarcastically then stormed up the staircase. In her room, she slammed her door so hard that it ripped down the middle. She opened her closet door to reveal her full length mirror. "All I need is blue eyes, fuller lips, a mysterious agenda and I'm mother dearest." She sighed then released her closet and saw her handprint had eroded the wood. "Ridley's getting stronger but so am I."
The sun had set and Clarke was finishing the surprise dinner while Esmeralda was setting the table. Even Richard made himself domesticated by making the fire to fight against the November night. Alex, Carson and Moonbeam were setting up the black and white balloons throughout the otherwise creepy old dining room. Ryan was up in her room rummaging through her clothing for something go wear.
The houndstooth skirt and the blood red woollen blouse were too formal and the white dress with the roses was too breezy so she covered it with her grey cardigan that tore at the sleeve. She rolled her eyes then trudged to Ridley's room and shoved the door open without knocking. Ankh was laying on her back, buried in Ridley's grey camouflage covers. Next to her, was Dane.
Shirtless and dripping wet from his shower in the headmaster's residence. He was wearing black ripped jeans and black Chuck Taylor high tops. He rested the white towel over his shoulders to dry his curly brown hair. Ridley was in a white shirt that she didn't bother buttoning up and revealed her white bra underneath. She too wore ripped black jeans but her was a skirt, and black Van's.
"Dane, I need your hands," Ryan groaned then tossed her torn cardigan at him. "Please?"
He nodded mutely while grinding the towel against his crown. Coolly he dug in Ridley's desk drawer for needle and thread. Ridley made nothing of it and continued brushing out her hair. The Danish hunter meticulously sewed the tear in the grey sleeve while Ryan leaned against the wall.
"Where'd you learn to sew anyway," Ryan began.
"My mother was a seamstress," Dane replied downly. "She worked in a bridal boutique just outside Østerbro. During summer, she would take me with her and she showed me all this stuff." He finished off the sleeve then bit off the excess thread. "Needless to say if you need help embroidering, I'm your guy," he concluded trying to be chipper about it.
"Thanks," Ryan replied as she grabbed her cardigan from him. She left unfazed by his story after that.
Dane sighed sadly then returned the needle and thread to their drawer. "Maybe we should set our parents up," he suggested grimly. Ridley flung her brush into her wardrobe wordlessly. "My father, your mother. They're both goldbloods, they're both shity parents and they want us dead." Ridley closed her wardrobe to face him. Instantly, his eyes darted down to her exposed bra under her shirt. "Sorry," he replied when he noticed she raised an eyebrow at him.
Embarrassed, the Danish grade twelve looked away. "Have you never seen a naked girl before," Ridley retorted. "Look."
Skeptically Dane exhaled then lightly shook his head. She rolled her eyes then cupped his shoulders and slowly Dane's hazel-green eyes look down into Ridley's bottomless black ones. Cautiously she directed him back to her bed to sit him on the edge. "Rid-" she stopped to take him in but Dane never got past the first syllable of her name.
She cupped his cheek then rested her full weight onto his lap, making him gasp. Still his eyes never left hers. "France was the first country in history to have female hunters," she began combing her fingers through his curls. "It started very unceremoniously; it started in brothels. The whores were killed by the thousands so they started carrying knives on them."
"There is some serious subtext going on right now," Dane argued nervously. "Maybe we should..."
"The women in brothels proved to be more than capable of executing hostile ampyras. They were so skilled that the hunters in France used them to extract information," Ridley went on. "They developed a technique called la souhaitée vérité. The desired truth. They would manipulate the sexual desires of their clients to get the truth. Sometimes they would even cut off the goods of their clients."
"Ridley... we're..." she took in his timid disposition with a coy smirk. "This's really inappropriate."
Ridley slid off of him to turn around, hiding her exposed bra. She let out a small chuckle, sensing how unnerved Dane was. "Calm down, Sorensen," she began. "I'd have a boner the size of the too if I was sat on by someone sexy."
Blistering red, Dane covered up his erection with his black shirt. "You're acting uncharacteristically weird," he pointed out. "Very uncharacteristically weird."
She sighed then buttoned up her blouse. "Call it a side effect," she stated downly. "This is why I hate opening up," she sighed leaning into her wardrobe. "It's like it doesn't stop because... because there's too much that wants to come out."
Dane nodded understandingly to her back. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I knew you couldn't be a cold to the core," he voiced tenderly but that did nothing. Instead, she sniffled to herself. "I do happen to think your sexy."
"Go fly a kite."
He hummed a chuckle then patted her shoulder. "You're back." Slowly she faced him then nestled into his chest. "I'm still wet," he warned.
"You're what," Esmeralda asked sternly from the door. Dane cleared his throat then clutched onto the towel over his shoulders. "Do I need to worry about you two abusing the privacy of this closed door?"
Ridley scoffed then shook her head. "What do you think, Esmeralda," she sneered.
"Dinner's ready," she replied, faintly relieved. "Come on."
At the foot of the stairs that led to Ridley's room, Ryan was impatiently waiting. Esmeralda took Ryan's hand in her own then bounced down the stairs. Despite Esmeralda being almost four months pregnant, she didn't show any signs other than her blood cravings.
Her black platform stilettos were a sign that the baby's weight wasn't affecting her yet. The fitted wine cocktail dress was also shy of physical expecting signs. Her burgundy hair dye was set in a low bun with pearl pins. Those heels echoed down the centuries old grand staircase of dark wood.
The house was deadly quiet until the birthday girls, their stepmother and their comrade stepped into the dining hall. The black and white balloons were tied together in bundles of five and scattered around the dreary room. Moonbeam and Carson through their arms in the air, yelling 'surprise'. Alex and Richard, meanwhile, clapped their hands and Clarke just rested his hands over his chair.
Ryan shrieked excitedly then bolted into Moonbeam and Carson's arms. Esmeralda glided to Clarke's side while Ridley and Dane sided with Richard. "As requested," Clarke began then began lifting the steel cloches off the food laid across the round table, "no cake and no fancy desserts."
They all took their seats and Ryan's lips parted excitedly when she saw one of the dinner options. "Is that daddy's pissaladière," she asked reaching for the French twist on pizza. She sniffed the aroma the crust radiated and groaned her desire.
Ridley too couldn't hide the memories of her drained young father coming home from university and still having to make dinner for them. "You haven't made that since we moved to Asteria City," she stated ruefully.
"Broccoli, basil, spinach, olives and Danish feta," Ryan sighed dreamily.
"This was the only way to get Ridley to eat her green vegetables," Clarke replied, taking in his quieter daughter. She merely darted her eyes from the French pizza to him. "Ryan just ate and ate and ate whatever we gave her," he laughed.
Ryan roared, "this was the Holy Grail of our childhood! We ate pissaladière religiously. Even when we didn't have much, we had your cooking, daddy." Clarke nodded gratefully with tears swelling in his eyes. "Why did you stop making it?"
"Because he got married," Ridley replied coldly, filling the hall with an awkward silence.
Carson, Moonbeam and Alex exchanged worrying expressions while Esmeralda turned to Clarke apologetically. Richard scoffed his humour then took a sip of his wine while Dane cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.
"Yeah, you're definitely back," Dane whispered under his breath. "Short fuse and all."
"You're such a ball buster," Ryan snapped annoyed and pointed her trusty handgun at her sister. "Can you not be normal for one night!"
"'Normal'," Ridley echoed sourly. "You're holding a gun." She drew a long dagger from under her skirt and threw it into the gun. "There's nothing 'normal' about either one of us."
"Okay, why don't we just get to presents," Esmeralda deflected while ripping the dagger out of the gun. "Before anything else exciting happens. Clarke?"
Clarke dug under his chair for two gift bags and handed them to his daughters. White for Ridley and black for Ryan. "From mom and dad," he stated. "With love and hate."
"Toxic," Ryan pointed out as she dug out a pair of black patent leather Jimmy Choos stilettos, a matching purse, a three-piece box of jewellery and perfume. "Toxic works for me," she added. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
Ridley furrowed her eyebrows at how heavy what she grabbed was. She pulled out a katana. The sheath was dark grey with a black dragon embroidered on it. Also in the gift bag was a collapsible compound bow set - two strings, a spyscope, twelve arrows, a quiver, a new arm guard - and a black compound bow that could fold.
"Thank you," was all Ridley said.
Richard nodded smugly at his eldest granddaughter. "The katana is the weapon of a leader," he stated wisely. "I think you've earned it." Ridley only packed up her gifts and ticked them under her seat. "However," Richard went on, "I know you've earned this."
Out from his inner jacket pocket, the veteran hunter pulled out a silver pendant. Clarke and Ridley both gasped their surprise. "That was Barbara's," Clarke stated, faintly surprised. "The Axel crest."
"Precisely," Richard stated. "The Axels may not be one of the orginal hunting families," the old man went on, "but there is a lot of wealth that comes from the name in the hunting community. That's one of the reasons I took your grandmother's surname." Ridley laced her fingers threw the silver chain. "She told me that I have to give it to you when you're ready. She loved you very much, my little harbinger."
Clarke looked between his father and his daughter at the mention of the name 'harbinger'. Ridley didn't seem bothered by him calling her that. Then again, Clarke thought, Richard had been calling her that long before Barbara died. Still, hearing how loosely Richard referred to Ridley like that - knowing the truth about the nickname - it changed the principal-hunter's perspective.
Ridley and Richard made nothing of Clarke's revelation. Instead Ridley watched her grandfather hand out a small wrapped box to Ryan. Like a child at Christmas, Ryan tore the red and white gift paper to reveal a stainless steel wristwatch.
"Thanks, oupa," Ryan replied, forcing her chipperness.
"Thank you, Master Axel," Ridley nodded.
"I have something for you too," Alex stated. He stood up and rounded the table to clasp on the necklace he bought.
"Ohmygod! It's gorgeous!"
"Yeah and it's non-reflective so you can wear it when you're on patrol," Alex added. "Ridley helped me pick it out."
"Ohmygod, you were serious," Moonbeam jeered.
"I was," Alex replied. "And," he went on to Ridley, "I saw you looking at this." He took out the black string bracelet with the Ying and Yang symbol on it. Ridley's lips parted at the sight of it. "D'you want me to put it on?" Speechless Ridley could only hold up her wrist for him. Carefully Alex clasped it on. "Thank you for your help today."
Still she couldn't talk. "Yeah," she uttered. "Thanks." Alex nodded eagerly at her before going to sit down.
"Dinner," Esmeralda inquired.
Clarke took her hand in his. "Calm down," he whispered. "Relax." Ridley only took a bite of her pissaladière then froze. Her eyes went wide and how revolting it was. "What? What is it, Ridley?"
Ridley forced herself to swallow the mouthful. "I can't eat anymore," she stated and evidently confused the table. Unfortunately as much as her body didn't agree with the taste of food, it didn't agree with harbouring food. "Excuse me," she stated then sped unnaturally fast out the dining room.
"How did she do that," Carson asked.
Dane turned from Carson to Clarke, Esmeralda and Ryan. "I'll go check on her," he volunteered. He followed the sound of her gagging into the bathroom. "Ridley."
"I," she began weakly. "I'm an obligatory hematophage," she stated. "Renee made me a goldblood."